Don't think too hqrd about the logic of alchemy. Meruru has one Big thing
going for it that the others in this series lack (Aisha less so than others, but
still): Clear Direction. Your goal is to raise the kingdom's population by
preforming various tasks involving gathering, synthesizing, monster-bashing,
building, and other odd jobs. All this is presented in the form of letters
describing a pronlem the citizens are having, which you take to you
father's chief assistant, who breaks them down into clear and precise tasks
with specific goals and measurable rewards. None of this drifting around hoping
you stumble into the right place at the right time, all the information is there
when you need it. Also, deadlines: with the exception of your initial long term
task and the game end date: there aren't any. For anything. That said, you don't
need them. You know how long you've got to do your task of developing the
kingdom, and every task you do contributes to that… The faster you get things
done, the more gets done.
Combat's fun, many of the low level enemies are amusing (the description of
‘no-horns’ is particularly entertaining), the bosses are tough if you're not
prepared, quite a bit less so if you are, the characters have distinct and
entertaining personalities and interactions.
Combat depends heavily on item use. Miruru's friends have useful and
powerful abilities, but their use is limited if you don't have the right items.
Still, a lot of the time, if you're not fighting a boss or clearing a new area
for the first time ‘hit it in the face until dead’ with regular attacks
works out just fine. Combat uses a conditional turn based system (much like
FFX), and having your more melee orientated characters protect your alchemist is
vital… Though, unlike some others, Miruru can more than hold her own in direct
combat.
So, in summary: silly, cute, amusing, and the gameplay is Very
well done.